


Midsummer

by fireflypendants



Category: The Last of Us
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Gay dorks being gay, ellie thinking about how gay she is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-26
Updated: 2016-07-26
Packaged: 2018-07-26 23:44:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7594951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fireflypendants/pseuds/fireflypendants
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ellie spends the night at Riley's house and comes to terms with the fact that she's really got it bad for her best friend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Midsummer

Ellie often ended up staying overnight at Riley’s house on unbearably hot summer evenings. It was an unspoken rule between the two friends: hole yourself up in the air-conditioned Abel household when temperatures skyrocket. Humidity was an unpleasant factor of early July, and so the pair combatted the heat by spending their time away from school in the brisk living room air.

It was midnight, and Ellie was sitting on Riley’s living room floor, slouched against the coffee table. Her cheeks were tinted a rosy pink as she stole glances at the girl beside her, whose eyes were glued to an episode of _The Twilight Zone_ on the television.

_God damn it Ellie… get your gay self together. You’re acting like a fucking schoolgirl on Valentine’s Day._

It had been nearly half a year since she’d developed an unfortunate crush on her best friend and her senior.

Six months ago, Riley had asked Ellie to accompany her to their school’s winter dance, a move that was more than likely a ploy to get cheaper tickets. A date was a date, however, and the two stuck together the entire night, dancing to Etta James and stuffing themselves with lemon bars at the refreshment table. It was that night that Ellie had taken her first drag of a cigarette, offered to her by resident douchebag Tino Harris, a recent graduate and Riley’s close friend. Ellie swore she gagged for thirty straight minutes afterwards, an unpleasant side effect of both the smoke and of her newfound romantic feelings towards her best friend. It was her first crush, and it was a hell of a strong one. She couldn’t stand anything about it.

Sure, she loved that she cared about Riley, but were crushes supposed to be so painfully distracting? Ellie was trapped between enjoying the energizing rush of her emotions and being tormented by her uncertainty. She was inexperienced in the world of romance, something she felt was uncommon for a high school girl, and didn’t know where to turn without revealing her feelings to somebody. She sure as hell wasn’t going to let this spill to anyone. Nobody could ever know that the rough and tough Ellie Williams was a huge lesbian for one of the most popular losers in town.

The sound of Riley’s voice brought Ellie back to the present.

“Dude, you’ve been spacing out for, like, ten minutes now,” Riley commented with a grin. “Is someone sleepy?” She asked the question as though she were speaking to a toddler, her tone edged with laughter.

Ellie groaned with embarrassment at Riley’s teasing and slid up from her slouching position. “I’m good!” she defended stubbornly, though she could feel her eyelids growing heavier. “I’m not tired, I promise.” The freshman girl may have had soft feelings for her upperclassman, but there was no way she was going to fall asleep first. Competition knew no bounds, not even in love.

Riley snorted with doubt and giggled. “Okay, whatever you say, dork.” She began to yawn with arms outstretched. “I’m getting there, though. We might as well set up for bed.”

Ellie wrinkled her nose with false frustration, though she felt a bit of relief at the thought of getting some rest. She was twice as worn out now that she spent her days doting on her silly crush, and frankly wanted a break from it all. “I’ll make my bed on the couch,” she announced as she stood up and began to clear the sofa of various empty bags of chips and snacks.

“Not so fast, Williams!” Riley yelped, getting to her feet and placing her hands on her hips. “No couch sleeping tonight. This is serious sleepover business -- we gotta build a fort.”

Ellie couldn’t help but stifle a snort. “A fort? What are we, ten?” _This girl is unbelievable with her ideas. What a baby._

“What, you’re anti-fun now? C’mon, Ellie, in a blanket fort we’ll sleep like kings.” Riley puffed out her cheeks with mocking insistence. “We’ll be safe and sound, I’ll protect you from all the monsters under the couch or whatever.”

_We’re sleeping together?_ Ellie’s heart skipped a beat at Riley’s implications and a blush spread across her freckled cheeks. _Now I’m really acting childish, thinking I can make a move in a goddamn blanket fort._

“Stupid…” Ellie grumbled, yet unable to hide her red cheeks and growing smile.

“I know you are, but what am I?”

“Yeah, yeah, loser,” the brunette chuckled, heading into the adjacent dining room to pick up a chair. “I’ll help you build your fort, but just know that you’re speaking to the _blanket fort master._ ”

Riley gasped, covering her mouth with her hand as she stifled her laughter. “Oh my! I’m so sorry for underestimating you, sir. I never would have guessed that I was in the presence of such majesty.” Her voice was inflated as though she were speaking to a superior, and she bowed curtly. “I will take after your lead.”

Ellie beamed at the joking praise and began to drag a couple more chairs onto the living room carpet. “I’ve got the foundation of Fort Ellie all built. It’s up to my subordinate Riley Abel to fetch the blankets.”

“Way ahead of you, babe,” Riley called over her shoulder as she retrieved several blankets from the hall closet. Upon returning, she resumed her polite manner. “Sir, are these to your liking?”  
  
Ellie pressed her index finger to her chin, exaggeratingly examining the pile of linens on the carpet. “They are not of utmost quality… But they will have to do.”

Both girls erupted in laughter following the end of their little act. Ellie always hated how easy it was for the playful Riley to get her wrapped up in her games. There was never a day where they didn’t make fools out of themselves in some way or another, and she would never admit that the constant acting and teasing was one of the reasons that she grew so fond of the girl.

Once their fort was constructed from the outside, Ellie crawled onto the carpet and furnished the interior with cushions from the sofa and pillows from Riley’s bedroom. It was pretty cozy, Ellie had to admit, and would surely be more enjoyable than sleeping by herself in the living room. This observation reminded her of their sleeping arrangements and she felt the tips of her ears grow hot once more.

She’d slept next to Riley plenty of times; they were best friends, after all, and yet these instances had occurred before Ellie’s romantic circumstances. Ever since those feelings surfaced, she had intentionally gone out of her way to distance herself from Riley on such intimate occasions. It just wasn’t worth the irritating fuzziness in her stomach. Hell, how was she going to sleep tonight?

Riley slid underneath the drooping blanket door and made her way into the fort on her hands and knees. She was clad in a pair of green flannel pajamas with her hair tied into a casual bun, carrying a strong minty fragrance from her nighttime mouthwash. Ellie was unable to register how oversized pajama pants and a blanket fort made her heart race quite so fast.

“Scoot your ass over, Ellie. I wanna sleep on this side,” Riley mumbled, laying on her side and yawning. She splayed her limbs out rather obnoxiously, cutting into Ellie’s side of the fort.

“Hey, watch it!” Ellie retorted, pushing the other girl’s arms out of her face. “You’ve got your space, I’ve got mine.” She was grateful for the darkness of the room, for she wouldn’t want Riley to see her lovestruck expression. It’s difficult, contemplating how you’re going to sleep soundly with the girl of your dreams right beside you.

Riley responded with a defeated giggle. “All right, loser. No more jokes. Time for sleep.” Her words ended with another yawn, and she rolled onto her side. Facing Ellie, Riley flashed her a smile before shutting her eyes to go to sleep.

Ellie felt a familiar warmth spread in her gut and swallowed. “Goodnight,” she murmured, her voice rather restless for someone so exhausted. After Riley’s lack of response, she made an strenuous effort to close her eyes and fall asleep herself, which ended to no avail.

The fourteen-year-old shifted uneasily due to an influx of butterflies in her stomach, feeling a rush of affection for the sleeping girl beside her. As Riley snored softly, Ellie turned onto her side to face her.

_She looks so innocent._ Ellie drew in a soft breath, remarking on the warmth of her best friend’s face. The older girl’s hardened, mischievous expression had disappeared, and was replaced with a pure softness. Her quiet breathing and incoherent murmurs drew out a small, noiseless laugh from Ellie, who was overcome with affection for her senior.

Ellie wasn’t always so pathetic and enamored around Riley. Of course she felt her stomach churn whenever Riley helped her pull off a sweet combo in _The Turning_ , and she admitted that she’d blush whenever they brushed hands in the school hallway. Yet it was only during moments like these, intimate and unspeaking, where she felt most vulnerable. After all, it wasn’t easy to be all lovey-dovey around the world’s biggest smartass; these feelings arose at their strongest when the mood got serious and the teasing had piped down to a minimum.

Taking in the sight of Riley’s gentle expression, Ellie sighed and felt a newfound boldness overcome her. Fueled by her affections, she propped herself onto a pair of shaky arms, leaning forward and placing a tiny, clumsy kiss on the other girl’s cheek. Her lips rested against cool skin for what felt like an eternity, and she quickly pulled away with a fiery lump in her throat.

Ellie’s insides felt as though they had melted into honey as she rolled onto her back, all of her senses tingling with overwhelming emotion. She squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to quell the warmth in her stomach and relieve her pangs of desire. It took several moments of dizzying recovery from her boldness for Ellie to finally drift into sleep.

* * *

 

It was well past dawn when Riley awoke the next morning. Ellie remained asleep beside her, curled up in an old comforter as though she were a sleeping kitten. Riley’s eyes lit up with warmth as she gazed at her closest friend in such an innocent, vulnerable position. Before crawling out of their makeshift fort, she left a quick peck on Ellie’s freckled nose. A quiet, protesting mumble sounded from the sleeping brunette, and Riley giggled before stretching and getting to her feet. 

There were two things Ellie didn’t know about Riley.

She’s a light sleeper and gay as hell.


End file.
